For those of you from the States, something about the good ol' US of A doesn't cut it!
It's gotta be your State or town.
For everyone else, I probably don't know a whole heck of a lot about your country (except Australia, New Zealand, anywhere in South East Asia), so have at it!
We've all been a bit..... depressed..... and certainly frustrated.... by recent shenanigans.
So let's have some positives!
If you want, think about it this way; of all the places in the world, what would convince me (or any Agnosticators) to come and visit you in your little corner of the planet?
My small town is one of the most diverse in the country. At last count there were at least 25 different languages spoken in our grade schools. The population was fewer than 30,000 in the last Census.
And at one time we had the "World's Largest, Free Concrete Municipal Swimming Pool"
I have a view from my living room of a village green with 2 pubs, and a dozen free-roaming geese.
A place surrounded by mountains. Full of parks, trees, flowers, rivers- even an ocean.
And, a large selection of yummy South Asian cuisine.
I can go out into my back yard and take notice of things around me. If I look closely enough the entire universe is right there. Even down to a blade of grass and that fantasic alien looking insect. If the Cosmos goes on forever in all directions then the centre of the universe is out there even in my back yard. Ok, perhaps I've been reading Alan Watts too much
I'm in Knoxville, TN. In the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains. I've been to a lot of other place, but but none as pretty as it is here. It's a great place to ride a motorcycle or drive in almost any direction you'll find a curvy backroad that goes for miles through he trees. There are lakes and rivers all around, with great places to ride bikes or kayak. I could honestly go on, but this wasn't meant to be an advertising campaign I'm sure.
The UK. I suppose the best thing about the UK is how gentle it is. We only rarely get harsh weather, and the only really tough terrain is in the Lake District and the Highlands. Even then, only some of it is like that, and the views atop Red Pike or Scafell more than make up for it. I'm gonna be focusing specifically on the Lake District here, one of the newest UNESCO World Heritage sites and the place where I used to live. There's this adorable little railway that goes from the coast up to Eskdale, a few hundred metres from a beautiful hamlet by a river. Just beyond that, there's a waterfall which is just stunning. It's not big, but it's gorgeous. This is it.
Uh ... well ... nothing, Kreig. Two to three hours drive from here we have the Carlsbad Caverns, also the loony bin known as Roswell where the little gray aliens crashed. Sorry, without a major trip, that's it. Well, unless you can be thrilled by oil wells and cracking plants.
We have an unending supply of tumbleweeds.
wish we could sell Walmart bags and tumbleweeds on ebay. That drive to Carlsbad is definitely a barren wasteland
Rapid City, SD. The Black Hills are incredible. I live about 20 minutes from Mount Rushmore and that isn't even the coolest thing about living here. Custer State Park has incredible hiking, wildlife viewing, rock climbing and fishing. Spearfish is nearby and has great hiking with waterfalls. Sturgis is nearby for the motorcycle folk and Deadwood for the history buff and gamblers. I am active duty military and had no idea all that was here when I found out this would be my home for 3 years.
The City of Philadelphia, we are not underwater (yet)...
Seriously, though, Philadelphia is the home of the Philly Cheese-steak Sandwich. I have traveled around a bit and have yet seen anyone make it like Philadelphia does (although I have seen some pretty good variations).
Boudicca rained here kicking the Romans asses and dads army was filmed here, in fact, i used to serve them in a hotel here when I was much younger.
The cows in my county outnumber the people two-to-one. Moo! (Okay, more of a fun fact than a positive aspect, but it's the best I can think of at the moment.)
Because you don't know the Patagonia Argentina...where the cows and sheep roam the valleys and pampas likethe kids in Walmart. LOL
Well, the trumpling thinks my town of Portland, Oregon is a sanctuary town. I appreciate that. Haha!
apparently, by not being afraid of people from other countries, we are housing terrorists....ugh. And basketball...is that still a sport?
Krieg there is a big thing here about sanctuary cities to protect illegal immigrant. Trumpling has some primitive ideas about that. I think the whole state of New Mexico is a sanctuary state mostly thinking of people from Mexico
Sulphur, Louisiana. It got its name because sulphur was mined here. It wasn't being mined when I moved here at 16 years of age. The lake Charles town smelled bad. They made lime there. They burnt oyster shells and powdered them. That plant shut down and another was built there. This town is growing very fast now. From 4:30 till 6:30 the traffic is slow because they're are so many working here. Same thing in the mornings. Our food is sea food. Gumbo is a favorite stew or soup. It could be both depending on the cook. We eat everything from the sea and swamps. Alligators, frog legs, and crawfish. We have 5 casinos close to us. Gambling is big over here. We got big money coming in. Big industry too. We have 4 hospitals. Urgent cares everywhere. I live between lake Charles and sulphur. I worked in the chemical plants and the refineries. Journeyman scale is $40.00. Contractors journeyman scale is around $33.00 from what im told. Most plant workers retire millionaires from 401k. One of my boses had 2.5 million when he retired. I am not a millionaire...lol. been married 3 times...lol. had some struggling kids. They're better now. My town is big for hardball and softball and swimming. 5 big golf courts. Our tallest buildings are the 2 casinos that are together. I have won my money back and i don't gamble anymore...whew! Oh yeah. Average house around Sulphuris $200.00 to $450.00. The average wage is around $60 to 100 thousand a year. This is in construction and plant work. There's still unskill labor work at $10.00 to$12.00. If you you can get a twic and safety card, then you can work for construction as a helper or hole watch for $15 to $20 an hour. For top paying plant jobs you need national certifications or degrees with experience. We have professionals from all over the world trying to get work here and you have to be qualified. It would help to know someone too...ugh! This is my home town. Retired. Forgot something. It's hot and humid. You work outside, you will earn your pay. It's flat land here and i have water ,lakes, rivers, sea all around me. It's poisoned with bacteria. They say don't swim in it but people do and we eat the food from it
I know froglegs taste like chicken but what about alligator?
It's got a white , softgrissly texture simular to a scallop, its mostly fried like froglegs. Taste more like the batter its fried in. Has a scent when fied less then fried catfish. It's not one of my favorites. I like fried oysters , scallops, fried shrimp, fried catfish on my seafood platter. Yummm...lol.
I'm in a small city at the end of a very lovely lake. Also, (famous comedian and actress) Lucielle Ball was born here and there's a little museum dedicated to her. Real estate costs are incredibly low. As a teen, I couldn't wait to get out of this area (and I did leave for 15 years), but I'm pretty fond of the area now.
We have a really large river about an hour away with huge lakes taking off from it that you can literally get lost in. It's where we spend almost all of our time when we're not working. Fishing is phenomenal, skiing is endless and the parties in summer are huge and mostly naked. Nothing like being a river bum.
we sit on the edge of the worlds largest deposit of fresh water where the waves in a wind storm will allow surfing [not wind surfing either] Oakville ontario can.
I live in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. in the Portland (OR)/Vancouver (WA).
We have very beautiful and green summers, lots of state and national parks nearby with lots of forests, rivers and streams, not to mention waterfalls, making it perfect for day hikes, camping or just enjoying nature.